'It’s Giving Desperate:' Woman Makes Pretty Common License Plate Mistake. It Costs Her $250

A woman has gone viral on TikTok after sharing her frustration over a recent traffic stop—and asking a question that many drivers have probably wondered: Do cops have a quota for the number of people they have to pull over each month?

Tay (@tayrose222) says she was driving when a police officer cut across “three lanes” to pull her over. The stop ended with her being issued a $250 ticket for having a license plate cover.

“Can someone pls confirm if cops have to meet a quota?” Tay writes in the text overlay of her video. “It’s giving desperate.”

As of this writing, her video has garnered more than 3.8 million views, with numerous viewers chiming in to debate whether ticket quotas are indeed a thing.

Is This A Ticketable Offense?

If you got a ticket for having a license plate cover, you’re not alone. Unfortunately, it’s usually a ticketable offense. In most states, anything that blocks or even slightly distorts the plate numbers, state name, or registration sticker is considered illegal. Even “clear” covers can be a problem if they create glare or make it harder for cameras and plate readers to scan your tag.

The reasoning behind these laws mostly comes down to enforcement. Police and automated license plate readers rely on clean, visible tags to do their jobs. Anything that interferes with that, even slightly, can be considered a violation.

If you do get ticketed, you have a few options. You can pay the fine and be done with it, ask the court for mitigation (which means admitting guilt but requesting a reduced fine), or contest the ticket entirely. Of course, if you go the latter route, that means you’ll likely have to show up in court and bring evidence—like photos of your plate and the exact text of the law—to argue your case.

Regardless of which option you choose, the safest course of action may be to remove the cover going forward. That way, you won’t risk another $250 surprise the next time an officer decides to pull you over.

Do Cops Have A Monthly Quota?

Despite what TikTok might think, cops don’t technically have a “ticket quota” they’re forced to hit every month—at least not officially. In most states, including Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, and Virginia, traffic ticket quotas are banned by law. The idea is to keep officers focused on actual public safety rather than issuing citations solely to increase city revenue.

That said, some drivers swear it feels like officers are writing tickets to meet a number, and there’s a reason for that. Even without formal quotas, many departments track officer “productivity” and use numbers—like how many stops or tickets an officer writes—as a way to measure performance. These aren’t technically quotas, but they can feel a lot like one.

Viewers Give Their Thoughts On License Plate Covers—And Quotas

Viewers had plenty to say about both license plate covers and quotas after watching Tay’s video. Most agreed that, quota or not, the stop was legit if she has a plate cover.

“I want to be on your side, but license plate covers are illegal in a lot of states,” one woman said.

“There is no good reason to have a license plate cover,” another added. “Instant sign of a bad driver.”

“It’s against the law,” a third person said. “He literally just did his job.”

“The law is the LAW,” a fourth wrote. “Why knowingly break it and then complain when you’re held accountable?”

Others weighed in on the idea of quotas, but couldn’t quite agree on whether they really exist.

“There’s no official quota, but there obviously is one,” one person wrote.

“I was in law enforcement. There isn’t a quota,” another said.

“If it’s the end of the month, yes,” a third woman added.

“They’ll never admit it, but they do seem to have some incentive to give out as many tickets as possible,” one woman claimed. “I once got a speeding ticket for going five [miles] over the limit. It was towards the end of the month.”

Motor1 has reached out to Tay via TikTok direct message. We'll be sure to update this if she responds.